food for thought

The gunning down of a youth by a posse of cops at Khumtai in Golaghat district once again illustrates how heavy handed and trigger happy Assam police personnel can be. The trouble began when the youth picked up fights with some people while returning after casting his vote at a polling centre on the first phase of panchayat elections on Wednesday last. Coming to know that the youth, a former BSF jawan, was armed with an iron rod and could create more mayhem, policemen set out in pursuit from Golaghat police station. As they reached his homestead, the youth reportedly rushed at them brandishing a sharp machete. As his father looked on horrified, he was cut down by half a dozen rounds of bullets, with one bullet fatally piercing him at the buttocks. It turns out that the youth was mentally deranged and prone to violence. Knowing this, should not the policemen have come adequately prepared to subdue and take him into custody, rather than exterminating him like some deranged animal? It is being claimed that the police first shot bullets in the air as a warning, but could they not have followed it up by shooting the youth in the leg to stop him in his tracks? Videos shot on mobile phones have now surfaced, showing this ‘encounter’ in graphic detail, ending with footage of the cops dragging the dying youth along the ground. This brings to mind similar disturbing images of encounters with militants and protesters. As reflected in National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Assam police already has a problem with restive crowds. In 2016, police firing claimed 16 lives in Assam, the second highest among all States, while the toll was 12 in 2015, the highest that year. Obviously, despite several inquiries in the past following public outcry, lessons have not been learnt by the State police as to how to bring an angry mob or individuals under effective control. Instead of non-lethal means like rubber bullets, the stock response is mostly to shoot to kill. The justification is often put forward that with inadequate manpower and little provision for water cannons or rubber bullets in interior police stations, the only recourse for cops is to shoot in self-defense. But as the Khumtai incident shows plainly, cops are prone to use ‘shock and awe’ tactics even when they vastly outnumber potential attackers (in this case just one). It merely reinforces the culture of violence afflicting this State for long, leaving not just extremists as well as law-enforcers hardened to killing and bloodshed, but also sections of the public. It is a pity, for sure.